Fury Says Ruiz Priced Himself Out

Tyson Fury is looking for a fight — and the names on his list keep pricing themselves out.

The former heavyweight champion is targeting a return in July or August as he waits for the long-discussed showdown with Anthony Joshua to materialise. Joshua fights Kristian Prenga on July 25 in Jeddah, and Fury has indicated his own situation should become considerably clearer in the coming week. Andy Ruiz Jr. was the most prominent name linked to a potential warm-up fight. Fury confirmed contact was made and shut the door just as quickly.

"Andrew has been contacted. Yeah. As a warm-up fight because that's all he is. A little fat bum dosser. Although he knocked out the bodybuilder, he wouldn't come close to me. I'd punch his head right in. But they asked for ridiculous numbers, like numbers that they can't generate. Do you know what I mean? This is not a stadium show. It's just initially a keep-busy fight, back in the ring action job. So yeah, Andy Ruiz priced himself out,” Fury

One name still under consideration is Nelson Hysa, the unbeaten Albanian heavyweight who has built a growing reputation through a series of knockout victories that have moved him up the rankings steadily. Fury acknowledged the conversations without committing to anything.

"Nelson's been one of the names that's been talked about. He's highly ranked, undefeated guy, knockout artist. So he's been one of the guys that's been spoke of as well," Fury stated

The statement fight is Joshua. Everything before it is preparation. The difficulty has been finding a heavyweight willing to be paid accordingly. Joshua fights July 25. If Fury intends to be active and ready for whatever follows that night, the window for his own return is narrowing. A decision in the next week keeps July viable.

"We're still trying to finalize a few things at the moment, but in the next week or so, I'll know like 100 percent where and who," Fury said